Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Mzimba Malawi

In Mzimba, the wet season is warm and overcast and the dry season is comfortable and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 50°F to 83°F and is rarely below 46°F or above 88°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Mzimba for warm-weather activities is from mid August to late October.

The warm season lasts for 2.1 months, from September 28 to November 30, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Mzimba is November, with an average high of 82°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.5 months, from May 21 to August 6, with an average daily high temperature below 71°F. The coldest month of the year in Mzimba is July, with an average low of 50°F and high of 69°F.

In Mzimba, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Mzimba begins around April 6 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around November 16.

The clearest month of the year in Mzimba is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 87% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 16 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around April 6.

The cloudiest month of the year in Mzimba is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 88% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Mzimba varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.7 months, from November 21 to April 12, with a greater than 40% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Mzimba is January, with an average of 24.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.3 months, from April 12 to November 21. The month with the fewest wet days in Mzimba is August, with an average of 0.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Mzimba is January, with an average of 24.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 80% on January 25.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Mzimba experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from October 10 to May 19, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Mzimba is January, with an average rainfall of 9.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from May 19 to October 10. The month with the least rain in Mzimba is August, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Mzimba does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 49 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 11 hours, 26 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 50 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:10 AM on November 19, and the latest sunrise is 57 minutes later at 6:07 AM on July 10. The earliest sunset is at 5:27 PM on May 28, and the latest sunset is 51 minutes later at 6:18 PM on January 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Mzimba during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Mzimba experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from November 30 to April 16, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 10% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Mzimba is March, with 10.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Mzimba is September, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Mzimba experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from June 29 to December 5, with average wind speeds of more than 8.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Mzimba is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.8 months, from December 5 to June 29. The calmest month of the year in Mzimba is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Mzimba is from the east throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Mzimba throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Mzimba for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid August to late October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Mzimba for hot-weather activities is from early October to mid November, with a peak score in the last week of October.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Mzimba are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from September 10 to November 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Mzimba is October, with an average of 7.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from December 20 to March 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Mzimba is January, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mzimba are -11.900 deg latitude, 33.600 deg longitude, and 4,393 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Mzimba contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 374 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,366 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,716 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,849 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Mzimba is covered by cropland (60%) and artificial surfaces (36%), within 10 miles by cropland (66%) and trees (31%), and within 50 miles by cropland (43%) and trees (36%).